New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-02-25
NEW PUBLICATIONS.
,,rv1c WITH NEW FACES

.ho, of n curiousiv quaint and charming nttie
..,;.. NJ Jorauese fairy tales They are translated
into English, but printed on Japnne'e raner' Illus
tr,te1 with native Japanese colored Drawings anu
stitchcd with silk In pretty way. Inc OIL lneer-
est of the series lies In the lnstrationa fhonah tho
sudcnt of folk lore will pd In the tales themselves
variants of fairy stories which have drifted all
over Europe. Some Of them can be traced 10 the
cradle of the Aryan race whi'e others nnd points
NJ denarture IN Hottentot and Zulu legends IhIs
the sto,y called aHanasaki Jill. or Tho "ih Man
who made Dead Trees Blossom" ,ss variant OF
p,cdu tale ,nnQ naturaIizea In Furope. Inc ono
entitled l'rashima or The Fisher Bov.' belongs "
tbe c|asa CT folk-tslrs in which mortar " LUCE
enamored % n fairy or ganii. and cong """' Wv"
her lives long n fnirv-land. re'urn'"s nv "o 80
find that centurie. have clap Ell on earl" M.
only few months years aeemen u" nave p"..'u
IN the region OF enchantment'. Varlan" vi '"''
ara n no fonnd in the T onsald an" one N.e"'"'
vb,,e IN Germany it has taken the firm OF Tam.
49,, and the vepusber0; in Scotla"d that of
Tho,ro. nf Ercildoune: m Scandinavia that OF
r..,, Tbor;r's son who m1rried Troll; and other
er.;on. ave To he fonnd IN the lk-lo-e OF Spain.
sweden. Switzerland, France italy. Greece. The
.torv of Ulysses and Calvpso even haa peen
clamed as presenting the root of tha same c"r'onsy
omnipresent legend Almost enuailv ram'i'ar NJ
reoards the ,adical idea Is the Japanese sforv
. Sbi. akiri Suyume" in witch a good old connie
snccor n fairy snarrow ord are rewarded nv the
choice of two baskets They modest'v take the
emaller. and on returning home II proves 10 oe
Allied with trea."re wicked ne!0hbor leans vi
THAR fortune and goes also tn the sparrows house,
where he "a gwen his choire. and oovetons' "'e,
ferrin, I'll. larger basket 1t emits crowd OF
demons when opened. and he is torn TO PIECES The
r,aix of this story NAV he REQ 'onized In the de-
,iobtfuI Irish tale a "Tit'le Fairlie." and II Ia
renresented in almost MANY other variants 40
there are anQna Qes in Europe and Aaia frsf'ty'ne
4" ito universal popularitv to the nftraction TOT
humanity which all representations OF s'm"e formS
a, ius,i,e and espec.allv reta iation upon wrong
doera have ALWAYS had
Momotaro, the Jaranese hero who Ia born from
pesoh kernel, and who "rOws big and strong an"
pr~.antlv attacks and connners the king OF fhe
devjls and eanoI,s their conntrv. has great deal
OF local flavor hut he IS not 40 for Orerta'zed as
In be uurecopn,zoble. We must claim him as
s.;or of the noble house whepo" Jack the Giant
KiI1er Hop-o-mv-thumb. Tom Hio| athriff. Tom
Tnumb. jack Of the Bsanstalk. md n long lin" OF
the heroes Of the nursery and th" Chimney corner
desccnd. Al to Sarn-Ksin Kassen." IN which the
war between the crsbs and the monkevsi Is related.
md wherein a rce-ponnder. mortar. bee ana
AN epa NAV leading parts HindOstan is robabiy
the scene Of the legend. though as variant OF IL
also founl in China Il is liicult TO determine the
onestion Of priority OF origin "knch,- hach'
Y,ms." the story Of the avenRing rabbit ~ II NAV
he called. s.ems essentially Jananese. the bal er
pavinu tho part usually taken nv that animal In
tbe olk-lore Of Ni~non 1t II interest'n0 however
to note that the Janancse like onr own Southern
neuroes have rictured Brer Rahhit' M spe''nliv
ostute and crafty animal. able bv his cunning 70
deceive and overreech even the badger. whose
shorpuess and malice are reco0nzef so univ III Tue
folklore of the Miksdo's empire, "Kohn orr me
tale Of an old man with scar on his face VINO II
relieved OF II nv troop of owls he amUses ny MS
dancing IT, like 40 many Of these fairy stories, of
family familiar to the Western world, thou9h
thoron qhly localized as they all are.
II the storios ara amusing, much more must ne
sad Of the illustrations In most of them there IS
to he recognized that remarkable plav OF fancy ana
ease and vieor of expression which so aston
he'd Europe when Japanese art was first popular
lied And while 'hese little pamphlets ara maui
factured and il!us'ra on the simplest and hmm
b,est scale IL must ne said that rarely do che
most pretentious Of Western childrens books offer
1.-THE of the artistic value. life, harmony OF color
ing and truth OF drauehtsmanship which these
brochures present. The covers of several OF them
are really admir abc, and on the backs simple bpt
efectiv, designs of blossoms, clouds insects or
other trhes, are produced with that economy of
Jauanese art so especially. Attitude. movement.
emotion, all are represented with the fewest
touches yet in the most vivid manner. Of cOnise
all the merit OF such work is relative As compared
with the bes: japanese art II Is insignificant. hut
It must be remembered that it Is wholly unpretend-
jnp that the vehicle Is the cheap pest of cheap chap
books and what makes the results worthy OF re-
mark is that to this common Use are brought an
opulence of fancy. bodness and liehtness of de-
sign and execution, and conscientiousness as re-
CARDS the finish Of sketch. even to the back
gruupds md bOrders which will be sought 'ainly
in most of the ustrated childreus books manuact
ured in this country. England, France or Germany.
There il further an originality in the designs which
il admirable Take the back covers, for example.
Each one is ferent The first has we've pattern.
simplicity ITSELF but effective. Another displays
cobweb in which two green leaves have lodged. 1t
dos not appear TO have been the work of quarter
of 40 hour but tho leaves are natural and the gen
eral effect good. On another cover beds of water
sedge alternate with spaces of water. 1t Is marsh
scene, wholly without elaboration, mechanic ally
crude, but nevertheless strongly suggestive and
producing . genuinely artistic effect. There is
tree on the front of one OF the little books
which Is wonderfully faithful, both in drawing and
coiorine In Short all the work Is honest and not
little Of IT Is clever The queer birds and boasts
masuneradng in Japanese costume arc not stiff or
awkward but full Of life. They gestculate freely.
They express their feelings with animation. inst
20 the men aud women, no matter how sketchily
presented. lAngn or cry. run away or stand still.
move their arma carry burdens. perform oil the
actions rrpresep ted, With propriety. directneas
and truth of motion by no means always at the
command OF Western artists who have devoted
years to drawing from the 6Gnre and tho study of
anatomy.
1t 10 . very interesting little series and these
japanese fairy tales arc all rsspects calculated
to promote sod increase tho admiration and respect
with which tho Art products Of that ondsYfAi
pire long since inspired all who haYe msdc such
WINK n serfour studv